Cancer Full Moon: Forgotten Mothers

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Out of her cave came the ancient Lilith; Lilith the wise; Lilith the enchantress. There ran a little path outside her dwelling; it wound away among the mountains and glittering peaks, and before the door one of the Wise Ones walked to and fro. Out of her cave came Lilith, scornful of his solitude, exultant in her wisdom, flaunting her shining and magical beauty.-George William Russell

I’ve always been drawn to origin stories. As a Double Cancer I’m endlessly fascinated by lineage, ancestry and the wisdom of days gone past (sigh). I can remember being in first grade looking at my kindergarten picture and feeling nostalgic for yesteryear. Yes, I cry at commercials despite the fact that I know I am being manipulated. I don’t care, I feel. The Crab’s job is to initiate us into feeling. Cancer wants to connect heart to heart and soul to soul. Perhaps one of the reasons is because Cancer is more likely to get its need for security met by making those it loves part of its surrogate family. Building emotional ties creates a type of security. Cancer is The Mother of the zodiac. Much like a mother and child, you don’t have to like your mother to have love for her. If you have spent any time in a therapists office you know how important that relationship is.

This month’s full moon occurs on Wednesday, January 15th at 8:53 pm in the sign of Cancer. It’s a “mini moon” meaning that it is just that, super small in the sky. It will be very close to Jupiter, making the planet visible if you look to the upper left corner of the sky during the hours just before sunset. Astrologically the moons job is to receive, gather and include. The moon reflects the light of the sun back to us in a way that is palatable to our senses. One cannot look directly into the sun for long. Moon gazing is an activity that can last all night.

This full moon rolls over Jupiter and Black Moon Lilith, both in Cancer, just before it peaks. A full moon is kind of like a snow ball-it incorporates everything that lays in its path as it increases in size. Classical astrologer, Rhetorius of Egypt (from the sixth or seventh century) named Jupiter’s exaltation in Cancer “Life-Breath.” Jupiter’s function is to stabilize and affirm that which it touches. Jupiter grows, says yes to and expands what it contacts. Black Moon Lilith is mysterious and dark, not a planet but a point that is said to balance out the moons orbit. In her mythologies, Lilith is also a kind of balancing point to an all-powerful, all-light, all-knowing, all-good male god. Lilith is a hot topic amongst feminists, astrologers and historians of all kinds. The first “wife” of Adam she is the symbol for the ancient ways that, once sacred, are now blasphemous. She ends up casting herself out of paradise because Adam refuses to treat her as an equal. A deeply complex and powerful symbol of chthonic, wild, untamable, natural, female energy; Lilith cannot be boiled down to a few sentences. But here we are on an astrology blog and all things must be shortened otherwise who would get anything done?

What’s important to succinctly convey is that Lilith symbolizes a compilation of origin stories about the Mother. This is to say, the original face of god that is as ancient as human existence. Her representation may be a little distorted in Lilith, a little one sided and definitely lacking in Her limitless compassion, but how would you react in the face of your entire existence being boiled down to a dutiful sidekick when five minutes ago your were the Queen Of Fucking Everything?!

Because of Lilith’s proximity, this full moon has a wild streak to it and an unpredictable nature. How it rolls out for you all depends on how you are able to grapple with unconscious truth as it breaks through into your conscious mind. Do you disown your guilt, envy, greed and inner thief? Do you hold tight to an image of yourself that is innocent, victimized and misunderstood? Do you leave a situation out of fear that you will be rejected rather than hang out to see what could actually be possible? Do you betray your wild, uninhabited creativity cashing it in for something that looks more acceptable to society? Are you able to integrate both your inner wild one and your inner nurturer?

Why we feel we must separate the mother from the whore is precisely the crux of Lilith’s tale. Her stories say if you are one you are no longer the other, if you are Lilith, you are no Eve. But Eve eats of the apple in the Garden. Eve listens to the serpent, an ancient symbol of the Mother. Eve incorporates the old wisdom into her body so that she can take it with her upon her descent, making sure that it will be passed down to each of us.

May we make use of the gift and grow from its nourishment on this full moon and all to come.

Full Moon blessings!

Chani

* Editing by Laurence Joseph Jones

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